Childcare pledge for south-east families

The Federal Government has pledged $500,000 to redevelop a kindergarten at Keith in South Australia into a childcare centre.

The only childcare facility in the upper south-east town closed last May, leaving dozens of families without support.

Child Care Minister Kate Ellis says $50,000 will be used to investigate how to best upgrade the current site.

She hopes the changed facility can be operating by the end of the year.

"We have committed up to half-a-million dollars in order to make sure that the work takes place, make sure that we have a new childcare facility in place but also we will continue to work with that childcare facility to ensure that the business model is viable and that this is indeed a long-term solution," she said.

The head of the Keith childcare action group, Poppy Lines, says integrated child care will breath life back into the town.

"Parents ... that could no longer work when the childcare centre shut down, they can now go back to work and I think for the town it's a massive thing," she said.